Improvement in directing projectiles



S. H. NOBLE.

Ordnance- Sight.

No 40,543. Patented-Nov. 3, 1863 N-PETEFIS` PKOTUUTNOGWN EEEE ASHING'TON. D CV llNITEn STATES PATENT @Erica ISCONSIN. ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF,

M. WOOLLEY.

IMPROVEMENT IN DIPLECTINGv PROJECTILES.

Specification forming part ofLeLtcrs Patent No. 30,53. dated November 3, 1863; antedated October i, 1863.

To all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, S. H. NOBLE, of Prairie du Chien, in the county of Crawford and State of Wisconsin, have invented and discovered a new and useful Improvement in the Mode of 'l`hrowing'Projectiles; andl do hereby declare that the following` is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and the letters and figures marked thereon, which form part of this specification.

The nature of my invention consists in a novel inode of controlling the direction of the projectile after it leaves the gun in such. a manner as to canse it to describe the arc of a circle in its night, whether the plane of projection be a vertical, horizontal, or any intermediate plane, and thereby causing the projectile to strike'with great force, perpendicularlyupon vertical, horizontal, or inclined surfaces, as may be desired.

The nature of my invention further consists in so controlling the direction of the projectile that it shall describe `the arc of a circle, as aforesaid, until it reaches any required point in the circumference thereof', whence it shall move oif in a right line tangent to said arc, thereby enabling the projectile to strike an object which could not have been reached by the ordinary mode of projection.

To enable those skilled in the art to understand and make use of my invention, I will now proceed to describe the same with particularity.

My mode of controlling` the direct-ion of the projectile is by attaching a wire of suitable size and strength, and extending said wire at right angles with the direction of the axis of the gun in the direction of the object which it is designed to have the projectile strike, and fastening or anchoring the end of the wire at a point exactly half-way between the gun and the object, and in a right line between them.

Figure l in the annexed drawings represents the gun or mortar, from which the projectile is thrown, adjusted for throwing projectiles in a vertical curve, but by means of the toothed semicircle b upon the breech and the endless screw o it can be adjusted for horizontal or any intermediate projection. This gun A is constructed similar in form to mortars, having a short bore, so that upon being charged the projectile will lie just wit-hin the muzzle, so `that the wire may be attached to the projectile and still be kept taut and straight in the direction aforesaid.

In Fig. 1, a represents a slot to admit the wire attached to the projectile to pass through, so as to keep said wire straight and taut, as aforesaid; but as the front of the projectile lies in a line with the face of the muzzle the wire may be. attached thereto without the slot, securing the same ends as by the use of the slot.

Fig. 2 represents a device to which the wire is anchored or fastened, D being a shaft revolvin g upon bearings in the upright supports. The wire, however, may be fastened in any suitable and secure manner.

The anchorage for thefwire may be so arranged that the wire will control the direction of the projectile, as aforesaid, until it reaches a given point, and will then be detached from said anchorage, thereby causing the projectile to move on in alinetan gent to the described arc. Thus that the wire shallbecome detached therefrom, when the projectile shall have described an arc of ninety degrees, the said projectile will then move off in a line at right angles with the direction of the gun, and by varying the application of thisfprinciple the projectile may be thrown in any required direction.

My invention is especially designed to operate againstiron clad vessels, whose sides, being impregnable against artillery missiles, can only be attacked successfully by throwing said missiles upon the decks of said vessels in a direction nearly or quite vertical or perpendicular thereto. It may also be used very advantageously for harbor defenses and similar purposes.

Fig. 3 represents a iioating battery, mounted with a suitable gun, and arranged for my i111- proved mode of throwing projectiles.

In Fig. 3, A represents the position of the gun at the stern, arran ged so that the muzzle thereof when in a vertical position shall be just on a level with the deck of the battery. B represents the deck of the battery; and D D' D represent anchorages whereunto the wires are xed, arranged for different distances, and d being the wires attached at one' by having the anchorage so arranged` end to the projectiles and at the other to the anchors D D' D, said wires being of such length that when the projectiles are placed in the gun the wires are tense and stra-ight, so that the momentum of the projectile acting gradually upon the Wires, the projectile is controlled without breaking the Wire, and is brought down with great force upon the vessel attacked.

Fig. 4 represents the operation of my invention, B being the battery, and M the iron-clad monitor upon which the attack is made. P represents the projectile havin g nearly reached the deck of the vessel; p, the path described by the projectile in its night, and d the Wire controlling said project ile, attached to D at the prow of the battery.

By the arrangement of the anchorages D, D', and D at different distances from the gun, and having any required number of projectiles attached to each ot'vsaid anchorages, the gunner is enabled to strike objects at different distances from the battery, so that should the vessels recede from or approach each other, he, by means of a distance-indicator, can readily ascertain the exact distance of the object, and thus is enabled in loading to select those projectiles Whose connecting-Wires are ot' the proper length.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. Causing a projectile after leaving the gun to describe the arc of a circle in its flight, substantially as herein delineated and set forth.

2. Causing the projectile to describe the are of a circle after leavin g the gun until it reaches any required point in said arc, and then to move on in a tangent line to said arc, substantially as herein specified and described.

S. H. NOBLE.

Witnesses:

W. E. MARRs, WM. M. WooLLnY. 

